RSS feedshort selling
’Today I shall short Adecco, Danone, Deutsche Telekom, Diageo…
M&A is back (exclamation point!), thanks to the Kradbury affair, and with it lists of possible acquisition targets to buy.
RBS have made their own contribution to M&A speculation on Wednesday morning with a compendium of six potential acquirers to short.
Shorting the rally
From Data Explorers – a chart showing short interest in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF vs its price per share.
The amount of the fund’s shares on loan, a useful proxy for wider US short interest, has increased by 24 per cent since September 7th.
BA burns
British Airways is the only airline of nine carriers canvassed by Data Explorers to have experienced an increase in its short interest since June.
SEC gets aggressive on “abusive” short selling
The SEC is having a very busy week. On Monday, it fined Bank of America $33m; on Tuesday, it hit GE with a $50m penalty for alleged accounting fraud. And on Wednesday, the US regulator charged two options traders and their broker-dealers with violating the requirements of Reg SHO.
Bolton says ♥ short selling monsters
That’s Anthony Bolton, of course.
Writing in Thursday’s FT, the nearest thing the UK has to a Warren Buffett-style investment guru, says we should learn to appreciate the activities of those fine upstanding citizens of W1:
Short disclosures’ long duration
From the FSA moments ago:
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is today proposing to extend the current disclosure regime for significant net short positions in the stocks of UK financial sector companies,
April is the cruelest month for shorts
Hedge Fund Research‘s latest performance stats are out and it looks like April fooled the shorts (ahem).
Related link:
Evil short-selling monsters revealed – FT Alphaville
SEC to consider proposals to restrict short selling
US securities regulators will consider about four proposals to restrict short selling, including the restoration of the “uptick rule,” SEC chief Mary Schapiro said on Monday. Other proposals on the table include a so-called “bid test”
Toxic Pub Co and the short sqeeze of death
Well, that’s what some brokers are calling it.
Of course, that chart does not do justice to the recent spike in Punch Taverns Toxic Pub Co.
But this one does.
Anyone who shorted Punch in the past couple of months will be nursing burnt fingers.
Short stoppers
The Australian Securities & Investments Commision (ASIC) takes rumours very seriously. So seriously in fact that is has invented a name for market speculation “rumourtrage”. It has also set up a hot line where snitches can report scuttlebut.
A short history
From Data Explorers, the DESLI 50 tracks short interest in the 50 largest companies in the securities lending market.
Related links:
Bear market rallies – FT Alphaville
A relieved Old Mut
Old Mutual revealed a 66 per cent decline in annual pre-tax profits on Wednesday and scrapped its dividend.
Initial market reaction: an 11 per cent jump in shares — something of a relief rally.
The gain means some short-sellers will have been burned.
From light touch to ham fist: the FSA’s new short regime
Rarely does FT Alphaville draw attention back to previous posts so barefacedly, but in honour of the below, we encourage readers to revisit, What is your assessment as to the typical volume of spam received from the FSA per day – a post we really rather enjoyed writing way back in July.
Darling in the dark
A rift has opened up between the government and the financial authorities after a furious Alistair Darling was kept in the dark over the lifting of the ban on short-selling, which may have contributed to this week’s tumultuous crash in the value of banking shares.
Dear Hector Sants…
John McFall, chairman of the Treasury Committee, has penned a letter to the FSA’s Hector Sants expressing his deep concern over “anecdotal evidence” that the monsters of Mayfair have been allowed to run amok on defenceless UK banks.
Save our shorts
On the basis of this research, the associations see no case for continued bans on short selling as there is no strong evidence that these have been effective in reducing share price volatility or limiting share price falls.